Current through March 20, 2024
Several provisions of State Statute require the State Board
to make certain determinations concerning local budgets. The following
procedures apply to such determinations and hearings:
007.01
Special Grant Fund List
Section
79-1003
R.R.S., subsection (37) requires the State Board to approve a listing of
special grant funds that are excluded from the expenditure limitations as
provided in the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act. The
following procedures shall be followed by the Department in approving special
grant fund list:
007.01A The
Commissioner shall provide school districts with a list of current special
grant funds.
007.01B School
districts must notify the Commissioner of special grant funds not included on
the current special grant fund list.
007.01C The State Board shall approve the
effective special grant fund list and any supplementary grant not listed on the
State Board approved special grant fund list (see Section 007.02).
007.02
Special Grant
Fund Exclusion Determinations
Section
79-1003(37)
R.R.S., requires the State Board to approve
a listing of special grant funds that are excluded from the expenditure
limitations as provided in the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support
Act. The following procedures shall be followed by districts seeking special
grant fund exclusions for any supplementary grant not listed on the State Board
approved special grant fund list:
007.02A The school district shall submit a
letter to the Commissioner requesting approval for exclusions to the
expenditure limitation for insurance settlements, inter-fund loans,
reimbursements for wards of the court, repayments to county governments for
previous overpayments, and for short-term borrowings. The district should
provide details regarding the purpose of the item and the amount of funds
anticipated to be received or disbursed.
007.02B The Commissioner, or his or her
designee(s), will review the submitted data, and make a recommendation to the
State Board in accordance with 79-1003 R.R.S., on such applications. The
Commissioner, or his or her designee(s), will provide a written notice to the
district of the State Board approval, denial, or modification of the requested
increases.
007.03
Financial Hardship Determinations
Section 004.02 provides for the State Board to make financial
hardship determinations in cases where federal funds exceed twenty-five percent
of a district general fund budget and are not received in a timely
manner.
007.03A Such applications
shall be made to the Department, in writing, at any time and shall include a
resolution of the district board supporting the application and a written
summary of the hardship.
007.03B
The Department will review the submitted data, and prepare a recommendation to
the State Board, a copy of which will be provided to the district, along with a
time at which the matter will be presented to the State Board.
007.03C The State Board may review the
recommendations of the Department and may take additional oral testimony from
the district and any other interested person at its discretion, or may assign a
hearing officer to take such testimony and prepare a summary for the
Board.
007.03D The State Board
shall make a decision on the hardship application in accordance with
79-1033(2)R.R.S. and
provide a written notice to the district approving, denying, or modifying the
request.
007.04
Early Payment of Postponed State Aid
Section 004.01 provides for the State Board to grant early
payment of postponed State Aid in cases where there has been a clerical error
in adjusted valuation or, assessed value changes by reason of special use
valuation pursuant to sections
77-1343
to
77-1348
R.R.S., which have not been included in the calculation of State Aid. The
following apply to such cases:
007.04A
Clerical error means transposition of numbers, allocation of value to the wrong
school district, mathematical error, and omitted value.
007.04B Such applications shall be made to
the Department, in writing, at any time and shall include a resolution of the
district board supporting the application and a written summary of the clerical
error in adjusted valuation, or assessed value changes by reason of special use
valuation. The Department may assist the district in determining the amount of
postponed State Aid that is due the district.
007.04C The Department will review the
submitted data, and prepare a recommendation to the State Board, a copy of
which will be provided to the district, along with a time at which the matter
will be presented to the State Board.
007.04D The State Board may review the
recommendations of the Department and may take additional oral testimony from
the district and any other interested person at its discretion.
007.04E The State Board may grant the entire
amount applied for or any portion of such amount it determines appropriate
under the statutory standards in section 004.01.
007.04F The State Board shall make a
decision, unless the district and the Department reach an alternative
agreement, on the early payment of postponed State Aid and provide a written
notice to the district approving, denying, or modifying the request.
007.05
Failure to
Submit Budget Documents
Section
005.01A provides
that if a school district fails to submit budget documents pursuant to section
79-1024
R.R.S., or fails to make any corrections of errors in the documents pursuant to
section
13-504
R.R.S., the Commissioner after notice and an opportunity to be heard, shall
direct that any State Aid granted pursuant to the Tax Equity and Educational
Opportunities Support Act be withheld until such time as the required budget
documents or corrections of errors are received. The following apply to such
cases:
007.05A The Auditor of Public
Accounts shall inform the Department, in writing, of the failure of any school
district to submit budget documents or the failure of a school district to make
any corrections of errors in the documents, and of any Class I district failing
to submit the items required in subsection
13-504
R.R.S. and 13-508 R.R.S. to its high school districts by the date established
in section
79-1083.03
R.R.S.; or
007.05A1 The Department, upon its
own review, may determine that any school district has failed to submit budget
documents to the Department, or has failed to make the corrections of errors in
the documents as required by the Department, or a Class I district has failed
to submit items required in subsection
13-504
R.R.S. and 13-508 R.R.S. to its high school districts by the date established
in section
79-1083.03
R.R.S..
007.05B Upon
review of the data on file in the Department, and/or the data submitted by the
Auditor of Public Accounts, the Department shall prepare a recommendation to
the Commissioner.
007.05C The
Commissioner, or his or her designee, shall provide the district an opportunity
to be heard and present any evidence relevant to the issue of the failure to
submit the required document(s) or correct errors. The district shall be
notified in writing of the time and place of such hearing, together with a copy
of the Department recommendations. If, after reviewing the recommendations of
the Department and any evidence adduced at the hearing, the Commissioner is
thereafter satisfied that the required document(s) or corrections of errors
were not submitted to the Department as required by law and continue to have
not been submitted, the Commissioner shall order that State Aid be withheld
until such time as the required documents or corrections of errors are received
by the Department. The decision and order of the Commissioner shall be in
writing and shall be provided to the district. The decision and order may be
appealed to the State Board under 92 NAC 61 within 15 days of its receipt,
however, such appeal does not preclude the order from taking effect.
007.05D State Aid shall be withheld until
such time as the required budget documents or corrections of errors have been
received by the Department and/or the Auditor of Public Accounts. The
Commissioner shall direct the county treasurer to withhold all school money
belonging to the school district until such time as the Commissioner notifies
the county treasurer in writing of receipt of the required budget documents or
corrections of errors.
007.05E If
the school district does not submit the required budget documents or
corrections of errors to the Department and/or the Auditor of Public Accounts
prior to the end of the state biennium following the biennium which included
the fiscal year for which State Aid was calculated, the State Aid funds shall
revert to the General Fund. The amount of any reverted funds shall be included
in data provided to the Governor in accordance with section
79-1031
R.R.S..
007.06
Failure to Submit Annual Financial Report, Fall School District
Membership Report, Annual Statistical Summary Report, and Audit
Report
Sections 006.01, 006.02, 006.03, and 006.05 provide the
statutory requirements for submission of various required reports. Such
requirements provide that if the reports are not received by the required date,
the Commissioner, after notice to the district and an opportunity to be heard,
shall direct that any State Aid granted to the district be withheld until such
time as the reports are received. The following apply to such cases:
007.06A The Department, upon its own review,
may determine that a school district has failed to file the Annual Statistical
Summary Report by June 30, that a school district has failed to file the Annual
Financial Report by November 1, that a school district has failed to file the
required Audit Report by November 5, or that a school district has failed to
file the Fall School District Membership Report by November 1.
007.06B Upon review of the data on file in
the Department, the Department shall prepare a recommendation to the
Commissioner.
007.06C The
Commissioner, or his or her designee, shall provide the district an opportunity
to be heard and present any evidence relevant to the issue of the failure to
submit the required document(s). The district shall be notified in writing of
the time and place of such hearing, together with a copy of the Department
recommendations. If, after reviewing the recommendations of the Department and
any evidence adduced at the hearing, the Commissioner is thereafter satisfied
that the required document(s) were not submitted to the Department as required
by law and continue to have not been submitted, the Commissioner shall order
that State Aid be withheld until such time as the required documents are
received by the Department. The decision and order of the Commissioner shall be
in writing and shall be provided to the district. The decision and order may be
appealed to the State Board under 92 NAC 61 within 15 days of its receipt,
however, such appeal shall not preclude the order from taking effect.
007.06D State Aid shall be withheld until
such time as the required Annual Statistical Summary Report, Annual Financial
Report, Fall School District Membership Report, and/or Audit Report has been
received by the Department. The Commissioner shall direct the county treasurer
to withhold all school money belonging to the school district until such time
as the Commissioner notifies the county treasurer in writing, of the receipt of
the required Annual Financial Report, Fall School District Membership Report,
and/or Audit Report.
007.06E If the
school district does not submit its Annual Statistical Summary Report, Annual
Financial Report, Fall School District Membership Report, and/or Audit Report
to the Department prior to the end of the state biennium following the biennium
which included the school fiscal year for which State Aid was calculated, the
State Aid funds shall revert to the General Fund. The amount of any reverted
funds shall be included in data provided to the Governor in accordance with
section
79-1031
R.R.S..
007.07
Contested Cases
Any allegation of error, miscalculation, or mistake in
computations or activities performed by the Department shall be first reported
to the Commissioner in writing for his or her review. Following his or her
determination, such matters shall be considered contested cases if they affect
the legal rights, duties, or privileges of individuals and shall be subject to
appeal under 92 NAC 61.
